Introductory Note

When we met in 1984, almost everyone presented their work (a project, a set of photographs, unbuilt work, a research study, etc.) and collectively we discussed these to understand/appreciate significant directions for architecture in India

After two decades of practice in the field or in academia, we can present our recent work and again try and arrive collectively at a normative understanding of the architectural situation.

Since the eighties we have lived through significant changes in the architectural scene.

The demographic profile of our cities has changed to make the habitat of the poor a majority phenomenon in most of our cities. The physical and social infrastructure is also changing, but do the current paradigms for urban development consider the majority population as being centre-stage?

Rural areas are also undergoing a major land-use transformation, with "new townships" replacing agriculture, and forcing more migration of the poor into the expanding cities. What is the architecture of the new rural-urban continuum?

Economic liberalization has opened up choices in building materials and construction technologies. At the same time our nationally-contained professional community is being encroached by international players. Can we foresee a new balance between local cultures and the global community? Can there be a new flowering of creative energy resulting from accelerated economic growth?

The information technology boom, which cuts across the traditional urban/rural divide, is changing the way we think about our environment. At its worst it fuels the consumer culture, creating an electric stage-set of gleaming high rises which polarizes society into haves and have-nots. The promise inherent in a web-enabled society requires much more intellectual effort to realize its beneficial potential. Can the architectural profession live up to this challenge?

Architectural education is undergoing transformation with the number of schools increasing exponentially in the last 2 decades. The new generation of architects is more exposed to global stimulation, but what are the sources of their architectural inspiration? What are the new areas of research which will encourage critical thinking on issues like identity, appropriateness, and modernity, which were some of the issues underlying our discussions in the Indian Architecture Workshop we initiated in December 1984?